The Girl from the Train by Irma Joubert
Book Description:
Six-year-old Gretl Schmidt is on a train bound for Aushwitz. Jakób Kowalski is planting a bomb on the tracks.
As World War II draws to a close, Jakób fights with the Polish resistance against the crushing forces of Germany and Russia. They intend to destroy a German troop transport, but Gretl’s unscheduled train reaches the bomb first.
Gretl is the only survivor. Though spared from the concentration camp, the orphaned German Jew finds herself lost in a country hostile to her people. When Jakób discovers her, guilt and fatherly compassion prompt him to take her in. For three years, the young man and little girl form a bond over the secrets they must hide from his Catholic family.
But she can’t stay with him forever. Jakób sends Gretl to South Africa, where German war orphans are promised bright futures with adoptive Protestant families—so long as Gretl’s Jewish roots, Catholic education, and connections to communist Poland are never discovered.
Separated by continents, politics, religion, language, and years, Jakób and Gretl will likely never see each other again. But the events they have both survived and their belief that the human spirit can triumph over the ravages of war have formed a bond of love that no circumstances can overcome.
Amazing journey! This book completely captivated me! There are those books that get so deep you are forced to take an emotional break, but Irma balances this story with a style that makes you able to continue! Yes it is deep and it is a long journey, but there's just something about it, maybe it's Gretl's personality, that just keeps you wanting to read on and on! I almost didn't want this one to end! The admirable and lovable Gretl captures your heart from the beginning and your love just grows deeper as the story goes on! The same goes for Jakob and many other characters! I don't want to give anything away from this fabulous story so I won't mention too many characters, but I will say that many are dear to my heart! I do wish there had been more prayers personally, but the differences in the Catholic and Protestant faiths are expressed in an interesting light I thought. Comparing what they think and how I think they're wrong or right added a very interesting aspect to the story and there where things that people in South Africa thought about WWII that I found shocking and also interesting! I didn't care for the glossary included in the beginning, it doesn't contain any of the words that I needed translated or defined and it wasn't very useful at all.
A true love story is at the heart of it all and the truly satisfying outcome makes the whole journey all the more amazing! I fully understand why this is a best seller in so many countries! From childhood to adulthood, from lost to loved, I recommend this book for those looking for a historical love story that takes you from Europe to South Africa and mixes many cultures and different people to paint a beautiful picture! Secrets, lies, Faith, danger, love, hope, joy, sadness, and so much more await you!
There are many, many songs that I would put with this book, too many really, so I've cut the list down to these songs: "Before the Morning" Josh Wilson, "Blessings" Laura Story, "That'll Be The Day" Buddy Holly, "Love Me Tender" Elvis Presley
Songs etc. May be changed and/or added in the future. ~ASC
Jeremiah 29:11
~ASC
*I requested and received this book from Thomas Nelson for the purpose of reviewing it. This in no way affected my opinion and the above are my true thoughts and feelings about The Girl from the Train. ~ASC
No comments:
Post a Comment